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Eudoxus of Knidos
|ProjectHindsight://Eudoxus of Knidos: Founder of Greek Astrology> "For about twenty years now, I have been talking about the highly systematic character of Greek astrology. For me this was an almost certain sign that there was one guiding intelligence behind the initial development of this astrology, meaning that it must have been the work of one man or a small group of men pursuing a common program. We here at Project Hindsight—I, Robert Schmidt and my wife Ellen Black—believe we have found that man. He was the celebrated Greek polymath Eudoxus of Knidos, who in fact had a large following of students. We would go even further and say that Eudoxus was developing his astrology sometime around the middle of the fourth century B.C.E. This effectively moves the founding era of Greek astrology back about two hundred years. The astrology that made its appearance during the first or second century of the Christian era in the time of “Nechepso” and “Petosiris” was not invented at that time, but merely made public, as Firmicus Maternus himself says." "It was Eudoxus who assigned Greek names to the signs of the zodiac for the first time, or at the very least finalized the process; of this there is no doubt. When the spellings of these names are studied individually and in comparison with each other, the four elemental triplicities emerge in their association with the four physical elements, along with numerous attendant concepts. The assignment of names to the five planets (Helios and Selene being already given) most likely took place during Eudoxus’ own lifetime." Biography |ProjectHindsight://Eudoxus of Knidos: Founder of Greek Astrology> "Who then was this man Eudoxus of Knidos? According to the most recent scholarship, he was born on the island of Knidos on the shores of Asia minor around 390 B.C.E. This would make him about 37 or 38 years younger than Plato and about 7 or 8 years older than Aristotle; he in fact had close ties to Plato and the Platonic Academy and would have known many of its associates including Aristotle. Eudoxus was widely travelled. In his youth he studied mathematics under the distinguished Pythagorean Archytas of Tarentum in Italy, and Diogenes Laertius regards him as the last member of the original Pythagorean school. Eudoxus spent sixteen months with the priesthood in Egypt. At some point he wrote a book called Tour of the World in which he described the customs and institutions of many countries. This is significant because many astrological sources correlate the twelve signs of the zodiac with the countries of the known world. Today Eudoxus is known primarily for his work in astronomy and mathematics, but he was also a physician. In fact, his birthplace Knidos was near the island of Cos where Berossus later set up shop and taught Chaldean astrology. Knidos and Cos were the centers of two rival schools of medicine. This is suggestive because there are indications that one of the earliest applications of astrology was to medicine." "Eudoxus of Cnidos, the son of Aeschines, was an astronomer, a geometer, a physician and a legislator. He learned geometry from Archytas and medicine from Philistion the Sicilian, as Callimachus tells us in his Tables. Sotion in his Successions of Philosophers says that he was also a pupil of Plato. When he was about twenty-three years old and in straitened circumstances, he was attracted by the reputation of the Socratics and set sail for Athens with Theomedon the physician, who provided for his wants. Some even say that he was Theomedon's favourite. Having disembarked at Piraeus he went up every day to Athens and, when he had attended the Sophists' lectures, returned again to the port. After spending two months there, he went home and, aided by the liberality of his friends, he proceeded to Egypt with Chrysippus the physician, bearing with him letters of introduction from Agesilaus to Nectanabis, who recommended him to the priests."Category:Greece Category:History Category:Ancient History Category:Ancient Astrology Category:Astrology Category:Rational Astrology Category:Neurodivergent People